Easy Yoda Puppet

May the 4th is right around the corner and Star Wars fans will love this super easy and cute craft to add a little force fun to the special day!



                                        My son Rolf, is the biggest Star Wars fan ever.

He loves to play with Star Wars action figures after school! I wanted to add something fun to his daily Star Wars play and I made something cute and easy to delight him!

This is so easy, all you need are 2 ovals of green paper, a circle of green paper, a popsicle stick, 2 googly eyes and some glue.



Begin by gluing the oval ear shapes to the large circle of paper.

Next glue those onto the craft stick.

Add the eyes and draw on a smile.
There you have an easy Yoda craft puppet!




Capturing Moments with Portrait Innovations


This conversation has been sponsored, but the opinons and views expressed are my own. 

There is one thing my family has neglected since we became a family; portraits. While it was something we wanted to do, having time to do it was always an issue. Life moves pretty fast when you are in the thick of parenting. So fast, that one day I woke up to find those tiny babies were movers and shakers, climbing on the bus and heading off to school and becoming their own people.

That moment of realization, of recognition that these kids aren't going to be kids forever, that there is no time like the present to capture the magic of childhood made me take a step back and reconsider this making time for portraits situation.

We headed into Portrait Innovations and found that really, the process isn't as demanding as I had imagined it would be. It was actually quite fun and not like a task at all.




The kids might be growing, but they are ages 3 and 6. Mischief is the middle name at that age, but the people at Portrait Innovations were prepared for that, with Lego tables and kid friendly photographers, my kids were on their best behavior, having fun and saying cheese like a couple of professionals. The studio is very comfortable and inviting.




Overall, the process took about 90 minutes. We loved having choices in backgrounds, from holiday-themed to a rustic wood wall, there were so many options for a great family photo that the hardest part was selecting which ones we wanted.

The photographer was great. She was able to capture fantastic shots of my kids, as well as photos that were hilariously candid. She captured this moment which we all had a great laugh about!




We loved that the process was complete in under 2 hours and we went home with an assortment of lovely family photos that we will cherish for years to come. The photos captured our family as we are. We wanted to preserve a moment in time and that is exactly what we accomplished with our photo session at Portrait Innovations.



I loved how many options were available; from canvas prints to coffee mugs and photo greeting cards to assorted sizes, there is no better time to visit a local studio and capture a moment in time with your family.



Portrait Innovations is offering their best spring special ever. The Spring 24 Portrait Package is only $19.99 plus a Free $100 16x20 Canvas with coupon found by clicking this link


Included in the portrait package is 1-10x13 Wall Portrait, 2-8x10s, 4-5x7s, 4-3x5s, 8-2x3s, and 5-5x7 cards, plus a high-resolution CD with your favorite pose. And, you can save 20% on all additional purchases in the studio. Portrait Innovations never charges sitting fees so bring the whole family. Appointments are limited so schedule your appointment today!




If you feel lucky, why not try your luck at winning some cash after getting those portraits taken? Visit the landing page and then share your entry on social media and include the link to your friends and family to vote. The top 20 people that get the most votes will be judged by Portrait Innovations. There will be 5 winners, each receiving $1,000!

Loaded Jalapeno Bites

Better than a Jalapeno Popper, this loaded jalapeno bites recipe comes together in moments and creates a crave-able appetizer or snack the family will love.



Prep time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4



4 jalapeno peppers
2 ounces {1/3 of a package } of cream cheese
2 ounces of shredded cheese of your choice {1/4 of a package}
2 tablesppons of real bacon, chopped into small chunks
Your choice of dip such as blue cheese or ranch



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Slice the end off of the jalapeno peppers, clean the seeds from the inside of the pepper by gently slicing around the seeds.
Remove them with a few gentle taps of the side of your knife.
Slice the jalapeno peppers in half, removing any of the remaining seeds, clean up the inside of the pepper.
fill the jalapeno pepper with cream cheese, repeat
Top with shredded cheese and bacon chunks
Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes
The cheese will be gooey and hot! Allow these to cool for 2 minutes before serving.
A side of ranch or blue cheese dip will mellow the heat of the jalapeno peppers


How to Make Popcorn in the Microwave

Popcorn is a great snack option, but the prepacked varieties are loaded with fat, salt and calories. I figured out how to pop my own healthy and tasty popcorn in the microwave. You are going to love how easy it is to make fresh popcorn, not to mention how economical it is too!






Ingredients
1 teaspoon of Olive Oil
1/4 cup of popcorn kernels


a medium size glass bowl
A plate that can cover the glass bowl



Directions
Add olive oil and popcorn to the glass bowl.
Cover it with a plate and microwave it for 2 -3.5 minutes
Remove from microwave when the popping slows to one pop every 2 seconds.
Enjoy!



Paper Plate Donut Craft for Kids

Paper Plate Donuts are a fun craft to make with the little ones! We paired this activity with the adorable children's book If You Give a Dog a Donut.


Harper and I love to get crafty together! We often pull out our Kwik Stix and paint together! She loves the freedom of painting without an anxious mom and I love offering her an outlet for her creativity.


We also love to read great stories together! So, on this day, we combined the fun of a craft using Kwik Stix with a favorite book to create paper plate donuts!



This craft is incredibly easy but offers so many options for creative expression in toddlers and preschoolers.
You can have the supplies ready in under 5 minutes for crafty fun with the kids.



Supplies
One Paper Plate per child
Kwik Stix
Pom Poms or small bits of paper to resemble sprinkles
Glue

Cut the center out of your paper plates.
Offer the kids the Kwik Stik, if you don't have any paint sticks, you can use markers or crayons.
After the paint has dried (it only takes 90 seconds) have the kids glue on pom poms or paper bits or sprinkles.

There you have some adorable and easy crafts to pair well with a fun book!

If you are making this craft you might want to grab my free Donut Coloring Page.